A New Beginning
by sookieandsamfan
Summary: Adalind receives a tempting offer that would force her to leave Nick. When she refuses, both her and Nick realize they are more than just friends - they've become family.


I have no idea what really might happen on the next episode of Grimm, but I saw a photo of Meisner coming to Nick and Adalind's house, so I dreamed up this little gem! Hope you enjoy it.

Adalind heard the door to the factory they called opening, but she was busy with Kelly, changing his diaper in their room, so she didn't even bother to look at the monitor to see who it was. They had surveillance monitors in both their room (which they had continued to share) and in the kitchen. It was about time for Nick to be home, and no one except Trubel had seemed to figure out where they live.

"Your daddy's home," Adalind said cheerfully to Kelly as she picked him up and headed toward the living room area. She stopped in her tracks, her heart falling to her knees as she clutched Kelly closer when she realized that Meisner was standing in her kitchen.

Though he had helped her tremendously when she had given birth to Diana, she knew that he worked for the Royals, and she was pretty certain he had something to do with the reason she wasn't with her daughter now.

"What are you doing here," she said trying to sound calm though she was terrified. "Nick will be home any minute."

"I know," Meisner responded. "He's at the hospital right now with Trubel, so I figure I've got a half hour on him. I just saw him there."

"How did you find this place," Adalind said again trying to sound cool.

"Tracker on the phone I let him keep," he answered equally as cool.

" _Of course_ ," Adalind thought. "Did you bring Trubel here?"

"Yes," again with the short answers.

"Well," she asked again. "What can I help you with?"

"Like I said," Meisner said. "I don't have much time. I'm here to make you an offer."

"What kind of offer?" Adalind asked cautiously.

"The Royals still think you could be very valuable to them," he began. "Pack your bags right now, and I'll take you and your son far away from here where the Grimm can never find you." Seeing Adalind's immediate reaction of shock and dismay, he added, "And, I'll help you get Diana back."

"You know where she is?" Adalind asked hopefully.

"Yes. I don't have access to her, but I know where she is, and I can help you get her back, but you have to come with me right now."

Adalind took in his offer with a million questions in her head. " _Could he really help her find Diana? Why would the Royals think she was valuable? Maybe they didn't know she no longer had her powers? Was this some cruel joke? Was he doing this because they had shared a few sweet moments when Diana was born?_ But all the questions were moot. She knew the answer.

"I can't," she said firmly.

Meisner looked surprised. He knew Adalind as a ruthless hexenbiest who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted – especially when it came to her daughter. "Why not?"

"I can't do that to Nick. I know how painful it is to lose a child, and I won't take Kelly away from him."

Meisner nodded as if understanding something he hadn't before.

"You're in love him?" he asked in an equally confused and accusing tone.

"I don't know," she answered honestly looking at the floor a moment, then looking right back up to his eyes. "But I do care about him, and he's a good father and a good man. He's been good to me and to Kelly, and I won't do this to him." Her voice quivered a bit at the end, but she knew in her heart it was the right thing to do. Even a sliver of hope to be reunited with Diana was hard to pass up, but Nick had also promised to help her find her, and she would have to rely on that.

"If that's all, you should go," Adalind said sternly.

Meisner nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait," Adalind said and quickly put the baby down in his pack-n-play and rushed into the kitchen. She wrote her cell phone number down on a piece of paper. "If you ever do see Diana, please give her my number and tell her to contact me anytime." Meisner again nodded and then left.

Adalind then sat down on the couch and had herself a good cry. It was an intense few moments and part of her felt a chance to find Diana slipping away, but she still knew she made the right decision.

About a half hour later, after she had finally pulled herself together, Nick arrived home. She had been wondering about how much she would tell him. She decided honesty was the best policy.

She let him come in and get settled. He cheerfully greeted them both, picking up Kelly and spinning him around making him giggle. It was music to Adalind's ears and reaffirmed she had made the right choice to stay put.

It was Wednesday, and it had become customary for Nick to pick up Chinese food on the way home. Adalind set out a few plates and opened the boxes so they could fill them. Nick put Kelly down in a bouncy seat and joined Adalind at the table.

"So, how was your day?" Nick asked as he spooned some orange chicken onto his plate.

"Actually, somewhat eventful," Adalind responded, and by the tone in her voice, Nick knew something was off.

"What happened?" he asked catching her eyes and sounding concerned.

"Meisner came here," she said trying to sound calm.

It didn't help. "What?" Nick asked in an exasperated tone standing up. "How did he find this place? What did he want?" He was now pacing and running his hands through his hair.

"Nick, please sit down," she said. "Everything is fine I promise."

She went on to explain how he said that he tracked them here through the phone he had given Nick, and that he admitted to being the one to drop Trubel off outside. Nick finally sat back down and again asked, "What did he want?"

Adalind took a deep breath and told him the truth.

"He offered to help me find Diana if I would take Kelly and go with him to again work for the Royals, and as long as I never had contact with you again," sje somewhat spit it out nervous about his reaction.

Nick stared at her wide-eyed as he processed the information. That asshole had tried to take his family from him. His heart hurt at the thought, and surprisingly not just about Kelly. About Adalind too. She was just as much a part of his life now.

"That sounds like a tempting offer," Nick said slowly. "What did you say?"

"I'm still here aren't I?" she gently asked holding his gaze. They were both silent for a moment.

"Adalind, I don't know what to say," Nick started. "I know how much you miss Diana, but thank you so much for not taking Kelly and leaving me." His delivery was a mixture of relief and gratitude.

"You're welcome," Adalind responded truthfully and told him what she had told Meisner. "I could never do that to you." They stared at each other for a few more moments. No words needed to be said. It was a silent agreement that whatever was in the past, was truly in the past. No matter where they had been or what they had put each other through; they were here together now, in a partnership as parents, and that was all that mattered. They cared about each other, and whatever that meant in the future, it was time to move on and let the past stay where it belonged.

Finally, Kelly broke the silence with a loud burp, which made them both laugh. They ate their meals talking about the rest of their days, which were much more routine.

Later than night while Adalind was giving Kelly a bath, Nick couldn't help himself. He pulled up the surveillance footage from earlier that day. He knew Adalind knew about the cameras and recordings, and he hoped he wasn't violating her trust. He just needed to see it all for himself—the man who threatened to take away what had become his whole world. The audio was full of static, but he could hear the exchange clear enough. Adalind had pretty much told him the conversation word for word, with one major exception. She had definitely left out the part where Meisner had asked her if she was in love with Nick. Nick was a bit stunned and felt a tug in his heart at her answer. He knew exactly what she meant because he felt the same way. He knew he wasn't in love with Adalind, but he couldn't deny she was special to him in a way he never imagined. He cared about her deeply and had an overwhelming desire to protect her, not just Kelly, but her. She could have easily run off with Meisner today at the hope of finding her daughter. She didn't really owe Nick anything, but she didn't go. She stayed out of her loyalty, respect, and seeming devotion to Nick. The thought made him feel happy and warm inside – two things he wasn't used to feeling much these days. He wondered if maybe they could be more than friends.

They had been sharing a bed for a few weeks now, innocently. Though if he was being honest, it felt nice when Adalind sometimes snuggled up against him when she slept. He was overwhelmed with emotion after seeing the exchange between Meisner and Adalind. The thought that he could have lost them and the realization that perhaps he and Adalind were heading in a direction of being more than friends. He came back from the garage where the video equipment was to see Adalind just coming back into the living room from their room. "Kelly's asleep," she whispered. He smiled, but he could tell he felt a bit sad – and was probably showing it.

"Nick," Adalind probed gently as she walked toward him. "What's wrong?"

Nick looked into her eyes and admitted, "I don't know. It's just"…he struggled to find the words. "I could have lost you both today."

Adalind softened further and shook her head. "Nick, I would never do that," she reassured him again. "I know what it feels like to lose a child, plus…" now it was her who was struggling to find her words, "I care about you." Nick knew she didn't know that he had watched the video, and it felt nice to have her reiterate what he had already heard her say.

"I care about you too," he responded and surprising them both stepped forward and scooped her into his arms pulling her close. They had hugged a few times before, but this felt different. Adalind gladly returned the affection. It had been a really hard day, and it felt good to find some comfort in Nick's arms.

Finally, after a few moments they both pulled back but didn't let go. Adalind smiled up at Nick, and without thinking further, he cupped both sides of her face, leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss. It caught Adalind by surprise and she didn't even have time to close her eyes before he had already pulled back his eyes searching hers for clues. A silent exchange contained a million questions. _Was this okay? Should this be happening? What was happening?_ Not wanting to let the moment pass them by, Adalind decided to make the next move. She rose up on her tiptoes and put her lips back on Nick's. After that, any tentativeness was over. Within moments, they were passionately making out. They were near the kitchen, so Nick pushed her gently toward the closet thing he thought would help them find some stability. When he had effectively backed her up to the kitchen counter, he swiftly lifted her up on to it. She immediately closed her legs around his waist and pulled him close as they continued to kiss. Nick let his lips trail down Adalind's neck and back up to her mouth causing her to groan with pleasure. She elicited a similar response from him as she let her hands snake their way up the back of his t-shirt and lightly ran her fingers down his muscular back.

Their make-out session continued for about 15 minutes when Adalind finally broke the kiss to pause and catch her breath. She continuing to hold Nick close now letting her legs drape lazily on either side of him. She pushed her forehead to his as they both breathed heavily, trying to return their breathing back to normal.

"You okay?" he asked gently tipping her chin up so he could see her face.

"Fine," she said smiling. "I just, umm…" she trailed off trying to find the words. "What?" he probed. "This might sound completely nuts, but I think maybe we should take things slow. I know that's crazy considering everything's that happened, and we have a child together, but this feel right, but it's also new, and I don't want to mess that up."

Nick had to admit that he knew what she meant. While his body might be ready to jump headfirst into a physical relationship with Adalind, his head and heart new that taking it slow was the better option. They could both end up in a bad place if they rushed things, then things went south.

"You're absolutely right," Nick said smiling watching the relief was over her face. "Maybe we should actually start…whatever this is…with a date. We could ask Rosalee if she might be able to babysit for a few hours this weekend if you feel comfortable leaving Kelly for a little bit."

"That sounds like a perfect plan," Adalind agreed and pulled him back in for another slow kiss. They parted after a few minutes smiling.

"It's been a long day," he said. "Should we turn in?"

"Absolutely," Adalind said yawning. She hadn't realized how tired she was until Nick mentioned it.

They both got ready for bed and climbed in. There was an unspoken change they both agreed to as Adalind, who typically started the evening facing away from Nick, snuggled right up to him putting her head on his chest as he happily embraced her. Neither knew where this was going and certainly never imagined they would be here, but that didn't change the fact that this is where they were, and they were both content and excited about the possibilities.

"Goodnight Adalind," Nick said softly planting a kiss on her head.

"Good night Nick," she responded, and both drifted off sleeping more soundly than they had in a long time.

Hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
